Intro to Lucha Underground

Now, I was thinking about the best ways to do a primer for people unfamiliar with the show, because there's a lot of ground to cover. After considering some different options, the route I decided to take was to just go down the
roster and talk about the characters a bit as sort of a reference point for who is on the show, where they are on the card, and what they've done so far this season. At the end, I’ll post, in my
opinion, the best matches from the season. There are some promo/vignette clips mixed in as well. I would have included more, but those are surprisingly difficult to find because the El Rey Network YouTube channel, which has tons of matches and where most of these videos are linked from, does not post them.

If you wish to watch Lucha Underground, your legal ways of
doing it are:

English: El Rey
Network, Wednesdays, 8PM ET

Spanish: Unimas,
Saturdays, 4PM ET

Online: El Rey posts episode recaps and usually one full match a
week on their official YouTube channel. Full episodes have been known to appear
on Daily Motion.

---------------------------------------Lucha Underground: The Show

To give some basics, Lucha Underground is a one hour weekly wrestling show in the lucha libre style. Many of the wrestlers on the show work in AAA as well. The show is backed by reality TV czar Mark Burnett (Survivor, The Apprentice) and filmmaker Robert Rodriguez (From Dusk Til Dawn, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Sin City) and the shows written and produced by several ex-WWE and AAA guys. It's kind of unclear whether there's an individual booking the shows or whether it's booked by committee.

It is a radically different show stylistically than WWE, TNA, or ROH. It's really more of a TV show than a wrestling promotion. The set is gorgeous for the kind of fight club vibe they're looking to cultivate. The matches are shot from multiple angles instead of leaning heavily on the hard camera shot. There are very few in-ring promos. Everything backstage is filmed like a movie, and there are no backstage interviews except for the occasional Vampiro sit-down interview segment.

About 85-90% of any given show is bell to bell wrestling. Because it's lucha libre, it is very spot oriented wrestling, but there are some very good in-ring storytellers on the roster as well. Many of the masked luchador characters are based in mythology or fantasy and the show plays up the supernatural elements of that, especially with guys like Drago and Mil Muertes.

So let's take a look at the guys and gals.

Lucha Underground: The Roster

The Boss

Dario Cueto: Cueto
is the kayfabe owner and operator of Lucha Underground. In his mission
statement on the pilot episode, he says that his 'temple' is about
entertainment through violence. A very basic, yet very good premise for the promotion. Cueto lines up as a heel authority figure,
but unlike the McMahons who use corporate speak and do things that are “best
for business,” Cueto’s motives seem to be more about just fucking with people for
his own amusement. That makes for an extremely refreshing take on the heel authority
figure gimmick. With Cueto,
it’s not about screwing babyfaces, and carrying out some grand vision to hand pick a champion he believes will be an appropriate poster boy for the company. It’s more about a kind of
sadistic man-child seeing what happens when he puts his toys in the microwave.
Cueto floats on the margins of storylines as more of a shit stirrer
than a primary antagonist, meaning he's involved in almost everything, but is never really the central figure of any storyline. The character is played by actor Luis Fernandez-Gil who has done mostly guest spots on TV shows and bit parts in films. The choice of hiring an actor with no significant background in wrestling to be the on screen figure head of the show was a risky move, but Fernandez-Gil has nailed the role and Cueto remains one of the best things about Lucha Underground.

The Champions

Lucha Underground
Champion Prince Puma: Some may recognize him as indie wrestling darling
Ricochet, but there is no kayfabe link established between the two at this
point. Puma is a young star who grew up in Boyle Heights, the neighborhood around the Lucha Underground Temple, and came under the tutelage of Mexican
wrestling legend Konnan, becoming his prized pupil. Puma has been the only
Lucha Underground champion to date having won his title in the inaugural Aztec
Warfare match. He has successfully defended it against Johnny Mundo,
Cage, Hernandez, Drago, Fenix, and King Cuerno. Many of Puma’s title defenses
have involved some measure of interference, or illegal tactics, which probably
isn’t by coincidence. Puma has never spoken on Lucha Underground television,
often being shoved aside by his manager Konnan, who has done the mic work for him to this point. As you can probably guess, this produces tension between
the two.

AAA Mega Champion
Alberto El Patron: After his departure from WWE, Alberto El Patron,
formerly Alberto Del Rio, returned to AAA in Mexico and defeated El Texano Jr
to become AAA Mega Champion, a title which he continues to hold to date. Due to
a working relationship between AAA and Lucha Underground, (Lucha Underground in
some ways a spin off of AAA) El Patron then made his way to Lucha Underground
receiving a star’s welcome as a Mexican hero who stood up for his culture in
the face of bigotry from WWE (Ironically making him the Latino hero WWE always
wanted him to be, but could never figure out how to make happen with him).El Patron was attacked on his first night in
the promotion by his rival, Texano, who followed him to Lucha Underground
seeking revenge. This lead to a AAA Mega Championship rematch on Lucha
Underground which El Patron won. He then became embroiled in a friendly game of
one-upmanship with Johnny Mundo, both needling each other about their time
spent in WWE and their departures. This led to a match between the two that El
Patron won which gave him an opportunity to challenge Hernandez for the #1
Contender spot. However, in his match with Hernandez, an enraged Mundo threw El
Patron through Dario Cueto’s office window costing him the match, and
escalating the feud. El Patron returned the favor last week by interfering in
Mundo’s All Night Long Match with Prince Puma.

Lucha Underground
Trios Champions Son of Havoc, Angelico, and Ivelisse: Son of Havoc (aka
Matt Cross of WWE Tough Enough) and Ivelisse (aka Sofia Cortez of WWE Tough
Enough and FCW) debuted as a couple, but the relationship immediately became
strained due to Son of Havoc losing match after match, and
Ivelisse berating him for it. Havoc eventually dumped Ivelisse. Angelico
debuted to similarly poor results despite a cocky attitude and exciting move
set. Eventually these three started feuding with each other, until they were
all called into Dario Cueto’s office and told they were being forced to team up
for the Trios Title Tournament, a move made seemingly to amuse Dario Cueto and
create a team that would be easy fodder for someone. The team was
dysfunctional, barely holding it together throughout the tournament but always
found a way to work together when absolutely needed. The team won the trios
titles in spectacular fashion, and are often bailed out with incredible save
the day spots from Angelico. They currently have no clear-cut challenger for
their belts.

The Contenders

Johnny Mundo: Formerly
John Morrison (aka Johnny Nitro) of WWE, Mundo defeated Prince Puma on the
pilot episode of Lucha Underground and came extremely close, as the last man
eliminated, to winning the Lucha Underground Championship in Aztec
Warfare.Cast as a flaky, somewhat aloof
Hollywood star, Mundo mixes parkour with lucha as part of his in-ring
performance. He’s taken on Big Ryck and The Crew, King Cuerno, and Prince Puma
in his tenure, but his feud with Alberto El Patron has turned him into a more
aggressive, bloodthirsty heel.

Cage: Formerly
known as Kris Logan from WWE/FCW, Cage is a bodybuilder with an impressive lucha move set for his size, and a disrespectful attitude towards lucha heritage. Cage
emerged early in the season as Puma’s first real challenger for the LU Title,
destroying Puma, busting open Konnan, and ripping the original LU Title in
half. After a DQ loss to Puma, and a non-title victory over him, Cage lost a title
match Puma, but remains in the mix.

King Cuerno:
Known in AAA as Hijo Del Fantasma, but unrelated in kayfabe, Cuerno, known as
The Hunter, burst onto the scene in a feud with Drago culminating in a Last
Luchador Standing match won by Cuerno. Cuerno then set his sights on Johnny
Mundo but fell to Mundo in a Steel Cage Match. Cuerno earned a title shot
against Prince Puma, but was unsuccessful in his bid to capture the belt.
Cuerno is known for his flawless topes.

Mil Muertes: Known
in AAA as El Mesias, but unrelated in kayfabe, Mil Muertes is an
Undertaker-esque character whose family died in an earthquake in Mexico City
when he was a boy. He debuted with Catrina, a seductress in black, as his
valet. Muertes destroyed his way through competition early in the season, including the likes of
Blue Demon Jr. That resulted in making him a favorite to win the Aztec
Warfare match for the LU Title, but Muertes was eliminated by Puma late in the
match. Muertes was then upset by Fenix in singles competition prompting a
rivalry in which Catrina appeared to distance herself from Muertes and instead
back Fenix. The rivalry culminated in a Grave Consequences casket match won by
Fenix, which led to the burial of Muertes. Mil disappeared from TV for several
months before being resurrected by Catrina, who revealed that her game with
Fenix was designed to have Fenix destroy that version of Muertes so he could be
resurrected stronger and more powerful (the character premise being he draws his strength from death). Zombie Muertes returned and annihilated
Fenix in a Death Match. He now faces Drago for a shot at Prince Puma’s
championship at Ultimo Lucha.

Drago: Sadly, the Drago character is not a tribute to the Soviet Union's greatest athlete Ivan Drago. However, Drago is the personification of a dragon with a cool dragon head mask, wings and a long fake tongue. Drago burst onto the scene in a feud with King Cuerno which culminated with a loss in a Last Luchador Standing match. He then developed a friendship with Aerostar. After a friendly competitive match between Drago and Aerostar in which they shook hands afterwards and showed each other respect, Dario Cueto, annoyed by how friendly they were and wanting them at each other's throats decided to book them in a best of five series with the winner earning a "unique opportunity." Drago took the series 3-2 and Cueto revealed that the opportunity was a title shot against Prince Puma, but if he lost, he would be banished from the temple. Drago pushed Puma to the limit, but interference from Hernandez tipped the match in Puma's favor and Drago was banned from the temple. When Dario Cueto decided to make a fatal four-way match two weeks ago between four guys who all had faced Puma and lost, to determine Puma's challenger for Ultimo Lucha, Drago approached Dario Cueto and sought to use this as a loophole to return to the temple. Cueto agreed to let him compete in the match, but if he lost, he would be banished and have to forfeit his mask. Drago won the match to become the #1 contender for the LU Title.

Fenix: Based on the mythological Phoenix, Fenix debuted in a rivalry with Pentagon Jr early in the season, before parlaying
his success in that match and an impressive performance in Aztec Warfare into a title match with Prince Puma. Despite failing to capture the
LU Title, Fenix established himself as player through his performance against
Puma. Fenix then was placed in a match with Mil Muertes in which he scored an
upset victory and became the first wrestler to beat Mil in singles competition.
Mil’s valet Catrina began making advances towards Fenix which he accepted. This
enraged Mil and set him and Fenix on a collision course which ended in a
Grave Consequences casket match in which Fenix buried Mil. With Mil out of the
picture, Fenix went on to win one of Dario Cueto’s seven Azteca Medallions, the
purpose of which is not yet known. Catrina resurrected Mil Muertes and informed
Fenix that he had been played as part of a ploy to bring back a stronger Mil.
Muertes and Fenix were then booked in a Death Match in which Fenix was
powerbombed through the ceiling of a room in the temple and fell approximately
20 feet to the floor. Mil’s Disciples of Death carried Fenix’s broken body back
to the ring for Mil to finish off. Fenix has not been seen since.

Hernandez: The
former TNA hand came to Lucha Underground half way through the season as a
friend of Konnan’s but immediately turned on Konnan and his protégé when
afforded an opportunity to compete for the LU Title. Hernandez earned a shot at
the championship by defeating Alberto El Patron with assistance from Johnny
Mundo, but lost his championship match to Puma.

Mid Card

Pentagon Jr: A
gothic wrestler who prays to an unnamed master before his matches and breaks
the arms of wrestlers as sacrifices to this master, Pentagon left a trail of
broken bones throughout the middle part of the season before being stood up to
by Sexy Star. After losingto Sexy Star
via flash pin, Pentagon was placed in a Submission Match with Sexy Star and
defeated her with help from Super Fly. After the match, Pentagon prepared to
break Sexy’s arm, but Vampiro made the save.

Sexy Star: Billed
as an abuse survivor who found her salvation through wrestling, Sexy is
portrayed as a strong woman with a fighting spirit, and a champion of the underdogs.
She first made a splash by defending legend Blue Demon Jr against Chavo
Guerrero Jr. Sexy then set her sights on The Crew after they brutalized her
friends Pimpinella Escarlita and Mascarita Sagrada. Sexy was placed in a trios
team with Super Fly and Pentagon Jr which lost in the opening round. After the
match, Pentagon attempted to break Super Fly’s arm, but Sexy made the save.
This led to a vindictive Dario Cueto making a Lucha de Apuestes (Mask vs Mask)
match between Sexy and Super Fly, which was won by Sexy Star. Pentagon Jr.
attacked both after the match and broke Super Fly’s arm. Pentagon Jr later
attempted to break the arm of ring announcer Melissa Santos, but Sexy again
made the save. Sexy and Pentagon then squared off with Sexy stealing a win, but
losing the war in a submission match when Super Fly returned and attacked her
allowing Pentagon to finish her off and submit her. As Pentagon started to
break Sexy’s arm, she was saved by Vampiro.

Super Fly: Having
already been unmasked in AAA, Super Fly put on a mask for his debut in the
temple. After little success in his limited matches, Super Fly was placed on a
Trios Tournament team with Sexy Star and Pentagon Jr. When the team lost,
Pentagon attempted to break Super Fly’s arm, but he was saved by Sexy Star.
Dario Cuerto, annoyed by this act, placed Sexy Star and Super Fly in a Lucha de
Apuestes match in which Super Fly lost his mask. He was then attacked by
Pentagon and had his arm broken. Super Fly disappeared to recover but reemerged
in the Pentagon Jr/Sexy Star submission match and cost his former friend Sexy
Star the match.

Daivari: The
former WWE manager arrived in the temple as a spectator, but when he was pushed
by Texano during a Trios Tournament
match, Daivari attacked him. Daivari then went to Dario Cueto and asked to
compete in the temple. His story is that he is a former wrestler who quit and
became wealthy through his family’s real estate business in the Los Angeles
area. Daivari wrestles in gold pants and drinks alcohol in the ring before his
matches. He continues to engage Texano and has hired Big Ryck as his bodyguard.

Big Ryck: Formerly Ezekial Jackson of WWE, Ryck was the
original leader of The Crew and the initial big bad to top babyfaces Prince
Puma and Johnny Mundo at the beginning of the season. After failing to win the
LU Title at Aztec Warfare, The Crew turned on him and burned his eye with a
cigar. Ryck returned to TV and destroyed The Crew in a 3-on-1 Handicap Match.
Ryck then assembled a Trios team with his cousin The Mack and Killshot in the
hopes of winning the Trios titles, but the team lost in the finals. Ryck has
accepted a job as Daivari’s bodyguard, leaving The Mack and Killshot behind.

El Texano Jr: A
former AAA Mega Champion, Texano followed the man who beat him for the belt,
Alberto El Patron, to Lucha Underground for revenge. After failing to win back
his title, Texano joined a team with King Cuerno and Cage for the Trios Title
Tournament, but the team lost in the finals. Texano had an encounter with Daivari
who was seated at ringside during the match. He has since stalked Daivari,
including costing the team of Daivari, Big Ryck, and Cage a Trios title match.

Disciples Of Death: A Trio of disciples following Mil Muertes and Catrina played by
Argenis, Mariachi Loco, and Ricky Mandel. Their individual kayfabe names are
unclear. The three debuted upon Mil Muertes’ return and circled the ring as
Muertes destroyed Fenix in a Death Match. They’ve since competed and defeated
the team of Bengala, Pimpinella Escarlita, and Mascarita Sagrada in a Trios
match.

The Rest

Chavo Guerrero Jr: Chavo
wrestled Blue Demon Jr on the pilot of Lucha Underground and lost to the legend. The loss set Chavo on the
warpath as he attacked Blue Demon Jr and Sexy Star on the very next episode.
Chavo engaged Sexy Star briefly, but soon fell by the wayside. After failing to win the
LU Title at Aztec Warfare, being told by Konnan that Mexico was going to get him for what he did to Blue Demon Jr, and running afoul Mil Muertes, Chavo quit Lucha Underground and went into hiding. He reemerged later in
the season confronting Dragon Azteca, mentor of Black Lotus, at an undisclosed
location. Chavo stated that since he attacked Blue Demon Jr in a dishonorable
way, Mexico was out to get him and he was hiding. In exchange for Azteca clearing his name in Mexico, Chavo offered to help watch
over Black Lotus, who had left Dragon Azteca’s training to confront Matanza.
Chavo caught up to Black Lotus as she was about to arrive at the temple and
offered his help but immediately sold her out to Dario Cueto in exchange for Cueto's protection against Mexico. Chavo helped Dario capture and imprison Black Lotus. Now with Dario Cueto shielding him from heat from the Mexican side of the border, Chavo set his sights on embarrassing Blue Demon Jr again, attacking him
3-on-1 with The Crew as his hired muscle.

The Crew (Mr. Cisco, Cortez Castro, Bael): Cisco (Lil’ Cholo on the indies), Castro (Ricky Reyes formerly of ROH), and Bael (B-Boy on the indies)
are gangbangers who often do the bidding of Dario Cueto. Formerly aligned with
Big Ryck at the start of the season, they turned on Ryck and burned his eye out
with a cigar. Ryck did return and got revenge on them. Cueto used them at
one point to attempt to rid his temple of the “freaks” Sexy Star, Pimpenella
Escarlita, and Mascarita Sagrada. While they put Pimpy and Mascarita out of
action, Sexy Star rallied against them. Cueto then used them to try and
dethrone the Trios champions Son of Havoc, Ivelisse, and Angelico. After
failing to win the Trios titles twice, Cueto stated there must be consequences
for failure and led them into a room under the temple where he keeps his
brother, Matanza, caged. Cueto told the three of them to pick one. Cisco and
Castro grabbed Bael and held him up to the bars. Matanza ripped his face off
and Bael, who is presumed dead, has not been seen since. The surviving members
were last seen flanking Chavo Guerrero in his attack on Blue Demon Jr.

Blue Demon Jr: A
Mexican legend, Demon was one of the major stars on the pilot episode of Lucha
Underground. After being assaulted by Chavo Guerrero and crushed in a match
with Mil Muertes, Blue Demon Jr disappeared for most of the season. He recently
returned in the build up to Ultimo Lucha and was attacked by Guerrero again.

Jack Evans: A long time AAA vet, nemesis of Teddy Hart,
and tag team partner of Angelico (although that has not been established in LU
kayfabe), Evans debuted recently losing his debut to Aerostar and then
defeating Argenis (now a Disciple of Death) in an impromptu Azteca Medallion
match. Evans is a cocky trash talker who claims he is the face of Lucha Libre, and has a
fantastic set of moves.

Aerostar: A son of the cosmos, Aerostar
engaged Drago in a Best of Five series for a “Unique Opportunity.” Aerostar
lost the rubber match and the opportunity. He recently beat Jack Evans in Evans’ debut.

Bengala: Bengala, a tiger clad luchador, debuted recently as a partner for Pimpinella Escarlita and Mascarita Sagrada in
a Trios match against the Disciples of Death.

The Mack: Known
as Willie Mack on the indies, The Mack debuted as a Trios partner for his cousin Big Ryck, along with Killshot. The team failed to capture the
Trios title. When Big Ryck was approached to work for Daivari as a bodyguard,
Daivari put together a team to challenge for the Trios title. The Mack was
briefly offered a spot but the conversation was interrupted by Cage, who laid
him out and took his spot.

Marty The Moth
Martinez: Formerly Martin Casaus of WWE Tough Enough, The Moth debuted as a fan
of Lucha Underground who accosted Dario Cueto and asked him if he could
join the Temple. Cueto turned him down initially, but The Moth ran in on a
match between Cage, Cuerno, and Hernandez, The hubris earned him a spot on the
roster. Martinez wrestled and lost a non-title match to Prince Puma earlier in
the season.

Killshot: Formerly
Shane Strickland on the indies, Killshot debuted as a Trios partner on Big
Ryck’s team. The team failed to win the Trios titles.

Pimpinella Escarlita:An exotico (or drag queen, or
transvestite), Pimpy has mainly been used as comic relief and enhancement
talent to this point, mostly wrestling in Trios matches alongside Mascarita
Sagrada. Matt Striker is infatuated with Pimpy.

Mascarita Sagrada: A
mini who has been used as enhancement talent. There are multiple performers who
have used the Mascarita Sagrada gimmick over the years, so I’m unsure which one this is, or if
it’s even possibly a new one, however, the original Mascarita Sagrada worked
for WWE in the late 90s as Mini Nova.

Miscellaneous

Matt Striker: Lucha
Underground’s English play by play announcer on El Rey Network

Vampiro: The color commentator for both the English and Spanish version of
Lucha Underground. Vampiro does a hilarious "Ringside with Vampiro" interview segment here and there where he asks the hard hitting questions to luchadors. He also curses very frequently on air and marks out at almost everything much to my delight.

Hugo Savinovich:Lucha Underground’s Spanish play by play
announcer on Unimas.

Catrina: The
manager of Mil Muertes and the Disciples of Death. Catrina usually dresses in
all black (usually very revealing clothes). She hatched a plot to make Mil
Muertes stronger by appearing to turn on him in favor of Fenix leading to a
Grave Consequences casket match in which Fenix defeated Mil. After Mil was
buried, Catrina resurrected a stronger Mil and brought with him the Disciples
of Death. After Mil Muertes defeats his opponents, Catrina administers a “lick
of death” to the lifeless body of Mil’s opponents.

Konnan: The
mentor of Prince Puma, Konnan’s intentions sometimes seem unclear, but to date
he has backed his pupil and aided him in winning matches.

Black Lotus: Formerly
Angela Fong of WWE, Lotus is involved in one of Lucha Underground’s most
sensationalized storylines. She appeared as a mysterious person spying on Dario
Cueto early in the season before being kidnapped by Dragon Azteca and taken to
an undisclosed location. She revealed to Azteca that she was trying to find
where Dario was keeping his brother, because his brother was the one who killed
her parents and she was seeking revenge. Azteca offered to train her and put
her through a regiment. Before completing her training, Lotus left Azteca and ran back to the
temple to seek revenge. Before she arrived she was confronted by Chavo Guerrero
Jr who offered to help her. Chavo then sold her out to Cueto and helped Cueto
capture her. Cueto has imprisoned her beneath the Temple in the same jail with
his brother Matanza.

Matanza:A yet to be seen, would-be monster, whom
Dario Cueto keeps locked up and apparently ate the face off of Bael. He was
revealed to be Dario’s brother and is alleged to have killed Black Lotus’
parents.

Dragon Azteca: An
unknown sensei of lucha libre who is mentoring Black Lotus. Azteca struck a
deal with Chavo Guerrero Jr, asking him to watch out for Lotus but Chavo
betrayed her. He has yet to enter the temple.

Where We Stand
The program has shifted a little as the build has started to Ultimo Lucha, the season finale and Clash of the Champions style supercard. The title match for the show will become clearer this week as Drago puts his title shot on the line against Zombie Muertes. I fully expect Mil to pull off the victory. Drago is a good wrestler, but a Puma/Drago main event doesn't have a lot of heat to it.

Alberto El Patron and Johnny Mundo appear to be heading for a showdown at Ultimo Lucha as well, likely in some sort of stipulation match since this feud is continuing to escalate.

We should also get a little more clarity on what the Azteca Medallions that Cueto is putting up in random matches signify. Fenix possesses one. Jack Evans has another. I believe he said there were seven, so five more will presumably be given out over the next five weeks. I assume this will lead to some type of match between the winners.

Lower level feuds on the show that may or may not make the Ultimo Lucha card include Texano/Daivari, Blue Demon/Chavo Guerrero, and Sexy Star/Super Fly.

Pentagon Jr should be starting a new feud soon since his feud with Sexy Star finished, and we'll have to see how Cage, Cuerno, and Hernandez are worked into the mix. There's a chance some of these guys just end up involved in the Azteca Medallion storyline, but I would figure a couple will start something new for the stretch run of Season 1.

I don't mind the lack of the page break, since this helps me catch up on what I've missed. This is excellent work, so I thank you very much.

What Lucha Underground has going for themselves is that even minor characters have noteworthy events and storylines they're involved in. They don't just do bland rematches and leave the storylines to a handful of people.

Fantastic recap. I missed an episode or two this season and this was extremely helpful, especially in figuring out what the monster in the basement was supposed to be. I look forward to reading weekly recaps from you.

I don't want to sound like I'm splitting hairs over a good article,but Shane Strickland is still Shane Strickland in about a hundred different indies. Same thing with Ivelisse and Matt Cross,they're all wrestling as themselves every weekend.

The reason I wouldn't totally dismiss it is because they're really going for like a 70s style Kung Fu film vibe with the whole thing, and in that respect, it's kind funny. That said I'm not a huge fan of the woman who plays Black Lotus. I think she's one of worser performer on the show when it comes to these wrestlers acting. Here's her diary vignette. I think the tone and imagery are great, but I just don't think she pulls off a good performance for this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VkHWtsLv_I

Lucha Underground does so many things that would just be complete and utter death if a reality based pro wrestling promotion tried to do them (like a monster eating off a gang member's face), but because the style in which they do them, and the fact that they're not really trying to kayfabe that this is all happening in the real world, a lot of it kind of works.

Where are you seeing these negative comments? WWE is the only promotion that DOESNT do intergender matches.The punches in wrestling are fake BTW,and the audience for this show isn't the same as the Smoky Mountain Wrestling audience. It's pretend. Candice LeRae will be fine.

It's been a huge criticism on the wrestling podcast circuit. And Wrestling Observer, which loves the show, really hates that part of it. If you read some reviews, people have expressed concern about it.

I don't think the issue is with intergender wrestling. I think the issue is with how Lucha Underground has done it specifically. Sexy Star gets the fuck beat out of her. The matches she's had with The Crew and Pentagon Jr have had some brutal images. Dudes just squaring up and punching her in the face, her taking really stiff kicks.

I think it's one thing if it's small guy, and they're going through choreographed wrestling movies, but large laying into a chick raises a lot of domestic violence vibes for people.

I've only heard the Mortal Kombat explanation of their take on intergender, but I think they'd probably defend themselves by saying:

The Crew beats the shit out of Sexy Star in the way they do it because they're thugs.

Pentagon Jr is supposed to be one of the most vile wrestlers in the company. He purposely broke guys arms for months. Of course he's going to do that to a woman.

Fantastic job here, Kyle/Fuj. Since I don't get El Rey, and find the Spanish feed awful to sit through, I'm way behind after watching the initial batch of episodes. Surprised to see how much character and plot development there's been since. This absolutely makes me want to go back and watch now.

Bookmarked. This was an absolutely awesome piece of writing. I've wanted to watch LU, but having to watch 30 episodes was quite intimidating. Instead, I've read this primer and will watch each of the matches that you've listed. Thank you!

Between the hip replacement and the liver transplant, things could be worse for Konnan. Which is why I kinda wish Vamp would tone it down with his Konnan-hate; I know they had a blood feud in Mexico, so it makes sense they can't stand each other, but it also sounds like they're trying to build to Vamp/Konnan in a match, and that shit ain't happening.

*nods* Some sort of "ancient aztec medallions" that may grant immortality. I say "may" because Fenix has one and Mil Muertes murdered the guy a few weeks back, so it either don't work or it works kinda slow. Jack Evans also won one, and there's supposed to be 7 of them, so I'm thinking we'll see matches for the other 5 over the next several weeks.

Agreed. I quit early in the season but was convicted by Fuji's evil ways to watch the last 6 episodes and its awesome. Truly one of the things which makes it incredible is not knowing Son of Havoc or Angelico in any context and being enthralled by all their trios matches and genuinely being excited when one of their matches start.

I'm not a regular LU watcher since I don't get the El Rey network, but I've seen a few episodes and I like what I've seen.Does anyone know how LU's ratings compare to TNA's? With the quality of the product LU is putting out, I'm amazed they haven't yet overtaken TNA as the de-facto #2 wrestling promotion in the U.S.

Info is spotty. A website I use, Awfulannouncing.com posts sports programming ratings every Friday, which includes all the wrestling shows. Lucha Underground does about 100,000 combined (East Coast showing, West Coast showing) each week on El Rey.

For instance last week, the East Coast feed did 72,000, the West Coast feed did 25,000

I haven't found any data on the show's peformance on Unimas past January. Around January they were pulling 200,000-250,000 for the Spanish language first run.

Considering the network and the fact that the show is brand new, that's not a bad start at all. But from what I understand it's also a very expensive show to produce (which makes sense, look at the production quality of it vs. TNA or ROH) and that even though it's helped El Rey, it may not have justified the cost.

That's why they're still up in the air in terms of a Season 2. Court Bauer who does MLW who is plugged in with some of those guys seems to be suggesting it's going to happen and that an announcement should be coming any day. Some of the AAA guys involved behind the scenes have said it should be settled in June which is why people are starting to get nervous, because June is almost over.

There is a rumor that the show might "graduate" from Unimas to Univision for Spanish language which would legitimately make it the #2 promotion in the US.

But then there's also a rumor that they may have to shop the show to another network for English because it's too expensive for El Rey.

For what it's worth, last I heard, Mark Burnett's company was committed to shopping it if it came to that.

Thanks. I'm surprised that the cost of the show makes El Rey nervous, since it really seems to be tentpole programming for them. Yeah, the show looks good, but the cost must still be a tiny fraction of a WWE show.

I think one of the big issues is how they shoot it. They really shoot everything out of the ring like a film. Some of the guys interviewed have said they've had to do 20, 30, 40 takes for a two minute backstage segment (Johnny Mundo probably broke the century mark more than once). That can get really expensive when you have to hire crew to shoot all that.

And then I think they shelled out a lot for talent. El Patron reportedly got like half a million to sign. I believe they paid a lot to get the rights to use Ricochet as the Puma character.

And they don't shoot in an arena, they had to build a set in a warehouse in LA which was probably a pretty big expenditure.

Thanks for this article and your Lucha Underground content. I need to get into Lucha more as I miss fun wrestling and I love Lucha Libre. I'm looking forward to you continuing your Lucha Underground reviews, Kyle.

On thing about LU, is that, sure the storyline are clearly fantasy, Drago is an actual dragon, Mil Muertes is an avatar of death and the owner's brother is a monster that eat people. But all this wacky stuff never spill out to the in-ring action, no hologram, exploding TV or creepy chorus kid.

I ran into the Morrison/Prince Puma ironman match and it was pretty awesome. Morrison makes such a great shitheel. (He even takes a water break, which is a funny ironic throwback). I think I would really like the wrestling, I would just have to get past the other stuff.

I guess it doesn't bother me at all, especially due to the way that Sexy Star has been presented; she's a woman with a fighting spirit, and even when she was defeated she brushed herself off and got back in there.

I think that if it was presented as abuse, I would have a real issue with it, but because it's presented as a competitor fighting another competitor, it's completely fine with me.

Plus, I'm a huge fan of Japanese Joshi wrestling, so I've been fine with this for a while. Makes me wonder if Sexy Star looked like Aja Kong if people would have the same problems with the intergender matches.

But, like Fuji said, she's kind of a "meh" wrestler when it comes to skills, especially if compared to a Toyota Manami or a Shimoda Mima.

Can you imagine doing a character-by-character breakdown of WWE, how all over the place it'd be? And half of the entries would include some form of, "I'm not sure what s/he's doing." I like that even the lower-level performers on LU have a clear motivation and character, at least.

Forgive me if I'm repeating anything anyone mentioned before me. A really important part of all of this is the arena ("Temple") itself. The vast majority of vignettes take place in and around The Temple, including inside the locker room. Dario's office, just outside the doors, and on the roof (as per Drago flying off of it or Aerostar staring off into Space). Matanza's cell seems to be below The Temple. Dario talks a lot about some kind of sacred power in The Temple, which goes a long way in explaining Drago vanishing into thin air when he's "banished" or Mil doing Mil stuff. I like to think of The Temple as an interdimensional portal meeting at the same point as a direct portal to AAA in Mexico. The "Aztec" seal/emblem in the center of the ring also holds some of this sacred power, most recently seen when Mil crouched down on top of it a couple of times during this week's main event. Striker is always doing a good job reinforcing that stuff on commentary.